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I am Boris Lebron, a jazz crooner and
a pop singer, and I declare: no matter, who sang this or that song before.
Once I sang it, the song is mine!
I was... born – well, some day of the previous century.
Kiew was my native city, where many years later I became the one and
only male jazz singer.
I started listening music at the age of three. Passionately disdained
any kind of music except for classics till about twenty. The first one
from the world of pop, who really impressed me with his huge voice and
irresistible energy, was Tom Jones.
Jazz itself began to attract me a lit bit later.
With time I discovered Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra,
Tony Bennet, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Mel Torme - all those
fabulous crooners. Thus I approached a magic world of crooning and jazz
singing. I was absolutely charmed by swing. My deepest jazz impression
for years (and in fact till now) was and is a giant figure of Ella
Fitzgerald, who is practically everything: a great crooner, a
great jazz singer, a great swinger! She is my highest school, my most
sophisticated teacher of crooning, my most profound inspiration! I consider
her ever the highest authority in jazz.
Another figure of a highest rank is for me a magic and tragic Chat Baker,
whose mystic performance is an absolute highlight of dramatic singing,
which goes out and much higher, then any other jazz performance... a
sort of prayer in the stile of “cool”. Only Ella... she's
the only one, who remains ever equal to any highlight.
First I appeared in a jazz combo as a drummer. Step by step becoming
professional, I remained a drummer for many years, and must confess,
it was a poor deal, because, though having much musicality and a good
feeling for time and swing, I never had energy and speed… or to
say it plain an adequate motoric physiology for real jazz drumming.
The first song I sang was "Strangers in the Night". It
was and immediate success and continued to be a success throughthe years,
so I sang this song to the point that today I really hate it. Soon after
first performances it was obvious, that I am much less a drummer than
a singer. Studying crooning & jazz singing… well, for me it
was a breathtaking journey, which took years of listening carefully
to all the great crooners & jazz singers possible. It extended my
horizons greatly. Somewhere on the crossroads of this musical journey
and my own singing I found and matured my personal stile.
I've been influenced very much by such fantastic performers, as Al
Jarreau (I even performed his version of "Spain") and
two Dianas: a blind singer Diana Schuur and
a fabulous female crooner - Diana Krall.
******* 
Here I am, during one
of early recordings, struggling with the set...
o'k, doing music after all, but never acheaving what I was born
to acheave. At that time I've been still occupying a place which
was never really mine.
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Short
Musical
Biography
Short
Musical
Biography
Short
Musical
Biography
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Joao Gilberto and
Tom Jobim drove me crazy with bossa nova. To a certain extant
Joao Gilberto is a super-crooner & brasilian bossa nova is the perfect
field for crooning.
George Benson, another
giant of jazz & crooning, whom I immediately recognised as a great
singer, despite the fact he was mainly mentioned as guitarist, of course,
took his important part in my jazz education. Years later I was confirmed
in my opinion of Benson, coming across the words of Max
Roach,
who estimated Benson as a great singer in the first place, and only
then a great guitarist. Benson was once asked: “Why don’t
You write your own songs?” I strongly hold with his answer: “Any
song is mine, since I have taken
the first note!”. Directly from these words derives my initial
declaration. That’s exactly what I say, when asked, why I mainly
stick to covers. No matter for whom was written this or that musical
arrangement, I'll use it good and do it my way.
It's much more to it, but anyway, all of You, friendly strangers - here
I am, still singing, after many times changing sidemen and two times
changing country of living.
My sound technishian
and friend
Fabio
Cobelli
Fabio
in one of the studios of his "EMOTION
RECORDS",
where we work and where thanks to his skill and
experience I
produce my cover-tracks.
Thank You, Fabio, You make my day!
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